Boeing Bats 2 For 2

Boeing [NYSE: BA] launched two spacecraft June 10 within hours of each other from different vantage points on the globe.

In an early morning launch (6:56 a.m. PDT) from the equator, Boeing’s Sea Launch venture lifted the Thuraya-2 telecommunications satellite aboard a Zenit-3SL rocket from a sea- based launch platform in the Pacific Ocean. The Boeing-built satellite was launched for Thuraya Satellite Telecommunications of Abu Dhabi, UAE. The satellite was placed at the 44 degrees East Longitude orbital slot.

Less than four hours later, a Boeing Delta II rocket launched the Mars Exploration Rover A probe from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., during an instantaneous launch window (1:58:47 p.m. EDT). The first of two scientific missions for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the probe named “Spirit” separated from the Delta II launch vehicle after 37 minutes and began its seven-month journey to Mars.